CIOs and CTOs Fight to Regain Control of Their IT Roadmap from Software Vendors, According to New Survey

IT leaders are transitioning from single vendor, “one-size fits all” traditional ERP model to optimize current investments and innovate around the edges

CIOs and CTOs Fight to Regain Control of Their IT Roadmap from Software Vendors, According to New Survey (Photo: Business Wire)

LAS VEGAS--()--Rimini Street, Inc. (Nasdaq: RMNI), a global provider of end-to-end enterprise software support, products and services, the leading third-party support provider for Oracle and SAP software, and a Salesforce and AWS partner, today announced the findings of the Censuswide Buyers Sentiment Survey, “Organizations Want More Control Over Their IT Roadmap,” examining the challenges IT leaders face around ERP and database support, vendor relationship management, and the IT support and services model. The Rimini Street-sponsored research was conducted among a sample of more than 600 U.S. respondents, consisting of CIOs and CTOs in companies with over $250m in revenue.

The survey results show that IT leaders are deeply concerned about being forced to adopt subscription models that may offer little to no ROI. As a result, they are transitioning to a new ERP model that helps optimize their current investments and supports innovation around the edges of ERP applications and databases.

“This survey reinforces that ‘agility’ and ‘choice’ are imperative in today’s CIO and CTO strategic playbooks. By optimizing mission-critical transaction systems and shifting investment to driving innovation around the edges, they can enhance IT’s capabilities while choosing what is best for the business and their budget at the same time," said David Rowe, EVP, Global Transformation and chief product officer. “The technology sector may be the only industry where vendors dictate when customers make upgrades and buy new products. But IT leaders are starting to take a new path and adopt an approach that helps keep them in control of their IT roadmap, enabling them to innovate at their own pace and make software decisions based on business needs, not vendor pressure.”

Data Shows IT Leaders are Rebelling Against Subscription-Based Status Quo

Key findings include:

  • Nearly all surveyed CIOs and CTOs are committed to transitioning their business to a new model focusing on maximizing their current investment and driving innovation around the edges for ERP applications and databases.
  • 99% of respondents reported concerns over implementing a vendor subscription-based licensing model. The top two concerns included fear of being forced to a subscription model that lacks ROI (42%) and worries about vendor lock-in (42%).
  • 57% of respondents believe digital transformation doesn’t necessarily require a “rip and replace” approach with core ERP applications.

Moving Ahead with a New ERP Model

The research shows that CIOs and CTOs were unanimous in their commitment to transition their business to a new ERP model that focused on maximizing their current investment and driving innovation around the edges for ERP applications and databases. Also known as “composable ERP,” this model allows companies to keep some selected core ERP applications from one vendor and integrate them with modern, best-fit applications from other vendors. In addition to a mix of platforms, this approach can also offer a combination of licensing (perpetual, subscription, open source) and deployment (on-premises, cloud) models.

To make this transition, IT leaders are considering various phases at once: optimizing their current environment, evolving to meet the changing needs in and around the organizations, and transforming to meet future needs:

  • Nearly three quarters (74%) of IT leaders are laser-focused on optimizing their enterprise software by looking at total cost of ownership and better outcomes.
  • Almost two thirds (63%) of IT leaders already have a vision of their transformation end state thanks to modernized composable technology, increased functionality, and accelerated digital transformation initiatives.
  • Nearly half (44%) of respondents that are evolving their current IT environment are working to wrestle back control of their IT roadmap from vendors.

Respondents recognized that this transition does not require a complete overhaul of their ERP systems. Over half (57%) of CIOs and CTOs believe digital transformation doesn’t necessarily require a “rip and replace” approach with core ERP applications. This is especially true for the healthcare (75%), manufacturing (64%), banking (62%), and IT (63%) industries.

When considering a move to a new ERP/database model, CIOs and CTOs prioritized the following:

  • Ability to innovate at their own pace (63%)
  • Best-fit applications where it makes sense (62%)
  • Modern technology and functionality (59%)

IT leaders are realizing they have an alternative to the subscription-based licensing model. These leaders are moving to a new ERP and database model that optimizes operational costs via cloud solutions where it makes sense, retains core enterprise applications where “rip and replace” won’t add value, and focuses new investments on products and services that align with business strategies for growth and innovation.

You can access the full, comprehensive survey report, “Organizations Want More Control Over Their IT Roadmap,” here.

About Rimini Street, Inc.

Rimini Street, Inc. (Nasdaq: RMNI), a Russell 2000® Company, is a global provider of end-to-end enterprise software support, products and services, the leading third-party support provider for Oracle and SAP software and a Salesforce and AWS partner. The Company has operations globally and offers a comprehensive family of unified solutions to run, manage, support, customize, configure, connect, protect, monitor, and optimize enterprise application, database, and technology software, and enables clients to achieve better business outcomes, significantly reduce costs and reallocate resources for innovation. To date, over 5,200 Fortune 500, Fortune Global 100, midmarket, public sector, and other organizations from a broad range of industries have relied on Rimini Street as their trusted enterprise software solutions provider. To learn more, please visit riministreet.com, and connect with Rimini Street on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. (IR-RMNI)

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements included in this communication are not historical facts but are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “currently,” “estimate,” “expect,” “future,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “outlook,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “seem,” “seek,” “should,” “will,” “would” or other similar words, phrases or expressions. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our expectations of future events, future opportunities, global expansion and other growth initiatives and our investments in such initiatives. These statements are based on various assumptions and on the current expectations of management and are not predictions of actual performance, nor are these statements of historical facts. These statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties regarding Rimini Street’s business, and actual results may differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, adverse developments in and costs associated with defending pending litigation or any new litigation, including the disposition of pending motions to appeal; additional expenses to be incurred in order to comply with injunctions against certain of our business practices and the impact on future period costs; changes in the business environment in which Rimini Street operates, including the impact of any recessionary economic trends and changes in foreign exchange rates, as well as general financial, economic, regulatory and political conditions affecting the industry in which we operate and the industries in which our clients operate; the evolution of the enterprise software management and support landscape and our ability to attract and retain clients and further penetrate our client base; significant competition in the software support services industry; customer adoption of our expanded portfolio of products and services and products and services we expect to introduce; our ability to sustain or achieve revenue growth or profitability and manage our cost of revenue; estimates of our total addressable market and expectations of client savings relative to use of other providers; variability of timing in our sales cycle, and risks relating to retention rates; the loss of one or more members of our management team; our ability to attract and retain qualified employees and key personnel; challenges of managing growth profitably; our need and ability to raise additional equity or debt financing on favorable terms and our ability to generate cash flows from operations to help fund increased investment in our growth; the impact of environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters; risks associated with global operations; our ability to prevent unauthorized access to our information technology systems and other cybersecurity threats, protect the confidential information of our employees and clients and comply with privacy regulations; our ability to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting; our ability to maintain, protect and enhance our brand and intellectual property; changes in laws and regulations, including changes in tax laws or unfavorable outcomes of tax positions we take, or a failure by us to establish adequate tax reserves; our credit facility’s ongoing debt service obligations and financial and operational covenants on our business and related interest rate risk, including uncertainty from the transition to SOFR or other interest rate benchmarks; the sufficiency of our cash and cash equivalents to meet our liquidity requirements; the amount and timing of repurchases, if any, under our stock repurchase program and our ability to enhance stockholder value through such program; uncertainty as to the long-term value of Rimini Street’s equity securities; catastrophic events that disrupt our business or that of our clients; and those discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in Rimini Street’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on August 2, 2023, and as updated from time to time by Rimini Street’s future Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and other filings by Rimini Street with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, forward-looking statements provide Rimini Street’s expectations, plans or forecasts of future events and views as of the date of this communication. Rimini Street anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause Rimini Street’s assessments to change. However, while Rimini Street may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, Rimini Street specifically disclaims any obligation to do so, except as required by law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Rimini Street’s assessments as of any date subsequent to the date of this communication.

© 2023 Rimini Street, Inc. All rights reserved. “Rimini Street” is a registered trademark of Rimini Street, Inc. in the United States and other countries, and Rimini Street, the Rimini Street logo, and combinations thereof, and other marks marked by TM are trademarks of Rimini Street, Inc. All other trademarks remain the property of their respective owners, and unless otherwise specified, Rimini Street claims no affiliation, endorsement, or association with any such trademark holder or other companies referenced herein.

Contacts

Janet Ravin
VP, Global Communications
Rimini Street, Inc.
+1 702 285-3532
pr@riministreet.com

Contacts

Janet Ravin
VP, Global Communications
Rimini Street, Inc.
+1 702 285-3532
pr@riministreet.com